Sectarian Rifts Begin When Logic Fails

Sectarian Rifts Begin When Logic Fails

By Raja G Mujtaba

Note: On the subject, S M Hali conducted a TV talk also on PTV world that is embedded below.

Today Pakistan is a bed of international conspiracies and battleground where proxy wars are being staged. Those who are killing innocent people no matter of cast colour and creed cannot be called Muslims. These are mercenary forces of international conspirators who are out to destroy Pakistan. Unfortunately, our politicians are also abettors of these killings be it through an act of commission or omission. And those who are not are gutless to stand up to these players and look them into eyes and give a clear message.

However for the general public who are victim or are being deployed through mind manipulation or coercion, below is a brief study for them to study and judge for themselves that if there is any Jurisprudent that teaches such violence or use of force.

Today the society is hijacked by religious and political exploiters and play games at home to keep themselves firmly straddled to seats of power. They have developed their own brands of Islam and their self-serving Fiqah or Jurisprudence. They take the people on a collision path and then pull the strings. The easiest way to do so is to deny logic and charge the people emotionally.

When logic fails, violence erupts. Failure of logic is due to arrogance, shallow knowledge base and lack of tolerance of others views. Sometimes there maybe some motives that are hidden behind a thin veil of self created perceptions that cannot stand even a light exposure of truth. These perceptions are created in such a manner that these become self actuating that generates ripples in all directions making it hard to control and manage.

This lack of knowledge and tolerance, gives rise to egos that is the first visible sign that logic has failed. This failure leads to frictions and denials of others view points. This ignites the spark of conflicts that keep getting wild sporadically surfacing at different places that hardly lets it recede; even during the lull, the steam keeps simmering.

In fanning of this sectarian violence, present day media also has to share a major blame. Media lacks the maturity and the sense of responsibility to carry reports based on facts. They would simply flash anything without any verification only to claim the credit of being the first to report.

Now coming back to sectarian issues, let’s glance over the five principal ‘Fiqah’ Imams who are revered by each sect and never willing to show tolerance and patience. Did these scholars create such atmosphere of intolerance and arrogance or it’s the followers who are responsible for that. The five Imams are:

Imam Jaffer Sadiq:

Ja?far ibn Muhammad al-S?diq (702–765 C.E. ) was a descendant of Ali from his father’s side and of Abu Bakr from his mother’s side and rose to be a prominent Muslim jurist. He is revered as an Imam by the adherents of Shi’a sect and as a renowned Islamic scholar and personality by Sunni Muslims. The Shi’a Muslims consider him to be the sixth Imam or leader and spiritual successor to Muhammad. The internal dispute over who was to succeed Ja’far as Imam led to schism within Shi’a Islam. Al-Sadiq was celebrated among his brothers and peers and stood out among them for his great personal merits. He is highly respected by both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims for his great Islamic scholarship, pious character, and academic contributions.

Shi’a Islamic fiqh, Ja’fari jurisprudence is named after him. The books on Ja’fari jurisprudence were later written by Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (864- 941), Ibn Babawayh (923-991), and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274).

Besides being considered an Imam of the Shi’a, he is also revered by the Naqshbandi Sunni Sufi chain.

He was a polymath: an astronomer, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He is also reported to be the teacher of the famous chemist, J?bir ibn Hayy?n (Geber).

Ja’far al-Sadiq was born in Medina on 24 April 702 AD (17 Rabi’ al-Awwal, 83 AH), to Muhammad al-Baqir (son of Zayn al-‘?bd?n, son ofHusayn son of Ali) and Umm Farwah (daughter of Al-Qasim son of Muhammad son of Abu Bakr).

Aisha’s brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was the son of Abu Bakr raised by Ali. When A’isha’s brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was killed by the Umayyad Empire, she raised and taught her nephew Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. Qasim’s mother was from Ali’s family and Qasim’s daughter Farwah bint al-Qasim was married to Muhammad al-Baqir and was the mother of Ja’far al-Sadiq. Therefore, Qasim was the grandson of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, and the grandfather of Ja’far al-Sadiq. Ja’far’s grandfather from his mother’s side Qasim was raised and taught by A’isha, after his father was killed by the Umayyads.

Ja’far ibn Muhammad has three titles; they are as-Sadiq, al-Fadil, and at-Tahir.

Ja’far al-Sadiq was 34 years old when his father was poisoned upon which, according to Shi’a tradition, he inherited the position of Imam.

Imam Abu Hanifa:

Ab? ?an?fah was born in the city of Kufa in Iraq during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. His father, Thabit bin Zuta, a trader from Kabul, was 40 years old at the time of Ab? ?an?fah’s birth.

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-Arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). There is a discussion on being of Turkic or Persian origin. But the widely accepted opinion, however, is that most probably he was of Persian ancestry from Kabul.

The sources from which the Imam Abu Hanifa derive Islamic law, in order of importance and preference, are: the Qur’an, the authentic narrations of the Prophet Muhammad (known as Hadith), consensus of the Muslim community (ijma), analogical reasoning (qiyas), juristic discretion (Istihsan) and the customs of the local population enacting said law (Urf). The development of analogical reason and the scope and boundaries by which it may be used is recognized by the majority of Muslim jurists, but its establishment as a legal tool is the result of the Hanafi school. While it was likely used by some of his teachers, Abu Hanifa is regarded by modern scholarship as the first to formally adopt and institute analogical reason as a part of Islamic law.

As the fourth Caliph, Ali had transferred the Islamic capital to Kufa, and many of the first generation of Muslims had settled there, the Hanafi school of law based many of its rulings on the prophetic tradition as transmitted by those first generation Muslims residing in Iraq. Thus, the Hanafi school came to be known as the Kufan or Iraqi school in earlier times. Ali and Abdullah, son of Masud formed much of the base of the school, as well as other personalities from the direct relatives of Muhammad from whom Abu Hanifa had studied such as Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja’far al-Sadiq, and Zayd ibn Ali. Many jurists and historians had lived in Kufa including one of Abu Hanifa’s main teachers, Hammad ibn Sulayman.

Ab? ?an?fah is regarded by some as one of the Tabi‘un, the generation after the Sahaba, who were the companions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. This is based on reports that he saw the Sahabi Anas ibn Malik, with some even reporting that he transmitted Hadith from him and other companions of Muhammad. Others take the view that Ab? ?an?fah only saw around half a dozen companions, possibly at a young age, and did not directly narrate hadith from them.

Ab? ?an?fah was born 67 years after the death of Muhammad, but during the time of the first generation of Muslims, some of whom lived on until Ab? ?an?fah’s youth. Anas bin Malik, Muhammad’s personal attendant, died in 93 AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah, died in 100 AH, when Ab? ?an?fah was 20 years old. The author of al-Khairat al-Hisan collected information from books of biographies and cited the names of Muslims of the first generation from whom it is reported that the Abu Hanifa had transmitted hadith. He counted them as sixteen, including Anas ibn Malik, Jabir ibn Abd-Allah and Sahl ibn Sa’d.

Imam Ahmed Bin Hamble:

Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s family was originally from Basra, Iraq, and belonged to the Arab Banu Shayban tribe. His father was an officer in the Abbasid army in Khurasan and later settled with his family in Baghdad, where Ahmad was born in 780 CE.

Ibn Hanbal had two wives and several children, including an older son, who later became a judge in Isfahan.

Ibn Hanbal studied extensively in Baghdad, and later traveled to further his education. He started learning jurisprudence (Fiqh) under the celebrated Hanafi judge, Abu Yusuf, the renowned student and companion of Imam Abu Hanifah. After finishing his studies with Abu Yusuf, ibn Hanbal began traveling through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia to collect hadiths, or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. Ibn al-Jawzi states that Imam Ahmad had 414 Hadith masters whom he narrated from. With this knowledge, he became a leading authority on the hadith, leaving an immense encyclopedia of hadith, the al-Musnad. After several years of travel, he returned to Baghdad to study Islamic law under al-Shafi. He became a mufti in his old age, but is remembered most famously, as the founder of the Hanbali madhab or school of Islamic law, which is now most dominant in Saudi Arabia, Qatar as well as the United Arab Emirates. In addition to his scholastic enterprises, ibn Hanbal was a soldier on the Islamic frontiers (Ribat) and made Hajj five times in his life, twice on foot.

Malik was born the son of Anas ibn Malik (not the Sahabi) and Aaliyah bint Shurayk al-Azdiyya in Medina circa 711. His family was originally from the al-Asbahi tribe of Yemen, but his great grandfather Abu ‘Amir relocated the family to Medina after converting to Islam in the second year of the Hijri calendar, or 623 CE. According to Al-Muwatta, he was tall, heavyset, imposing of stature, very fair, with white hair and beard but bald, with a huge beard and blue eyes.

Teachers

Living in Medina gave Malik access to some of the most learned minds of early Islam. He memorized the Quran in his youth, learning recitation from Abu Suhail Nafi’ ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman, from whom he also received his Ijazah, or certification and permission to teach others. He studied under various famed scholars including Hisham ibn Urwah, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and — along with Abu Hanifa, the founder of theHanafi Sunni Madh’hab- and under the household of the prophets lineage, Jafar al Sadiq. This fact may explain the mutual respect and relative peace that has often existed between the Hanafi and Maliki Sunnis, on one hand, and the Shias on the other.

Imam Shaafi:

al-Sh?fi‘? belonged to the Qurayshi clan Banu Muttalib which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim to which Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. Hence he had connections in the highest social circles, but he grew up in poverty.

He was born in Gaza, near the town of Asqalan. While still a child, his father died in Syria and thus his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. His family roots were from Yemen, and there were more members of his family in Mecca, where his mother believed he would better be taken care of. He is reported to have studied under Muslim Ibn Khalid az-Zanji, the Mufti of Mecca at his time and is considered the first teacher of Imam ash-Shafi’i

Studies with Imam Malik in Medina

He moved to Medina to teach others of the message of Islam and be taught by Malik ibn Anas. He memorized Muwatta Imam Malik at a very early age whereby Imam Malik was very impressed with his memory and knowledge.

786 – 809: Harun al-Rashid’s era

After that he lived in Mecca, Baghdad and finally Egypt.

Among his teachers were Malik ibn Anas and Mu?ammad ibn al-?asan al-Shayb?n?, whom he studied under in Madinah and Baghdad.

He was appointed as a judge in Najran in the time of Harun ar-Rashid. Sunnis portray that his devotion to justice, even when it meant criticizing the governor, caused him some problems, and he was taken before the Caliph, falsely accused of aiding the Alawis in a revolt. al-Shayb?n? was the chief justice at the time, and his defense of al-Shafi’i, coupled with al-Shafi’i’s own eloquent defense, convinced Harun ar-Rashid to dismiss the charge, and he directed al-Shayb?n? to take al-Shafi’i to Baghdad. He was also a staunch critic of Al-Waqidi’s writings on Sirah.

In Baghdad, he developed his first madh’hab, influenced by the teachings of both Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik. Thus, his work there is known as “al Madhab al Qadim lil Imam as Shafi’i,” or the Old School of al-Shafi’i.

Why this happens, in simple terms it’s that those at the top of state or clergy have failed to implement the proper knowledge or have developed it for some vested interests.

The development of curriculum for a meaningful coexistence of the society, there should be no schisms in our education system but plain narration of facts. Those imparting the religious education must have a proper exposure to all the disciplines of ‘Deen’ who can undertake any or every discussion as a scholar and not as a supporter of any particular school of thought.

To understand the ‘Deen’ in its purest and best form is to study the nature of Allah through His book and adapt it as much as possible. The Deen that Allah has prescribed for mankind is Muslim and has called its followers to be Muslim. This Deen is open to entire humanity without discrimination or reservations. Once those who come to its fold are to be treated as equal to others and there is Allah is all loving and forgiving.

The mightiest of all powerful, when He loves His creation and shows love of more than 70 mothers than why mankind cannot show similar loving nature?

Studying the attributary names of Allah the most visible are His names that show ‘Jamal’. ‘Jalal’ are few of His names.

For those of us who believe in Allah, why can’t we display that love and forgiveness to our fellow human beings? Why have we become intolerant to others?

Quran is the complete book that gives Allah’s nature and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) lived it. If only the incident of Taif is quoted, when he was pelted and stoned, his shoes got filled with blood, the angels descended and offered to squeeze the mountains to destroy the people of Taif. The Holy Prophet said, no; for he could see among their coming generations who would be his greatest admirers.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) came as ‘Rehmat-ul Alimeen’ than why his followers are not following in his foot steps? Is this the love and respect that we have for our beloved Prophet (SAW)?

Initially the preaching of Muslim by Muhammad had been confined to Mecca, and his success was rather modest, limited to 170 men and women in the city during a ten-year period. However, in 619, after the Year of Sorrow when his main source of support, Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and his loving wife Hazrat Khadija had died.

Now, not just the elite of Mecca attacked Muhammad, but even young children hurled dust and insults at him. Muhammad soon realized that there was no hope left for the Meccans to accept his religion, and he thus looked to the south, to the sister city of Ta’if, for aid and support, so Muhammad and his adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah went to Ta’if to invite the people there to Muslim.

Leaders of Ta’if

Muhammad was received by the three chiefs of the local tribes of Ta’if[1] and they let him freely have his say, however, they paid little heed to his message. After a while they even showed signs of apprehension lest his welcome in Ta’if might embroil them with the Meccans, so they left him to be dealt with by street urchins and the riff raff of the town.

Rejection

By rejecting Muhammad’s religion, the people of Ta’if ordered their children to throw rocks and stones at Muhammad and Zayd ibn Harithah to make them leave the city and never come back. Muhammad and Zayd ibn Harithah were finally turned out by mocking and jeering crowds. The rocks that were thrown at Muhammad and Zayd by the Ta’if children caused them to bleed. Both were wounded and bleeding as they left Ta’if behind them. Muhammad bled so profusely from the stoning that his feet became clotted to his shoes.

Vineyard

Once Muhammad and Zayd ibn Harithah were outside the city walls, Muhammad almost collapsed. They went a short distance outside of the town and stopped in a vineyard that belonged to two Meccans who were there at the time.

The owners of the vineyard had seen Muhammad been persecuted in Mecca and on this occasion they felt some sympathy toward their fellow townsman. They sent a slave who took Muhammad into his hut, dressed his wounds, and let him rest and recuperate until he felt strong enough to resume his journey across the rough terrain between Ta’if and Mecca. It was there that the angel Gabriel came to him with the angel of mountains and said that if Muhammad wanted would blow the mountains over the people of Ta’if.

Muhammad prayed:

“

O Allah, To Thee I complain of my weakness, my lack of resources and my lowliness before men.

O most Merciful! Thou art the Lord of the weak and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou relinquish my fate! To one who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art not angry with me then I care not what happens to me. Thy favor is all that counts for me.

I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance, by which all darkness is illuminated. And the things of this world and next are rightly ordered. I wish to please Thee until Thou art pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee.

”

The owners also told their Christian slave named Addas from Nineveh to give a tray of grapes to the visitors.

Muhammad took the grape and before putting it into his mouth he recited what has become the Muslim grace: “In the name of God, Ever Gracious, Most Merciful.” (Arabic Bismillah ar-Rahman, ar-Raheem). Addas became curious and inquired about the identity of Muhmmad who presented himself. The conversation that ensued led Addas to declare his acceptance of Muslim, so that Muhammad’s journey to Ta’if did not prove entirely fruitless.

He stayed preaching to the common people for 10 days.

The existence of a Christian community in Najran is attested by several historical sources of the Arabic peninsula, where it recorded as having been created in the 5th century CE or perhaps a century earlier. According to the Arab Muslim historian, Ibn Ishaq, Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia.

Najran Pact:

In the tenth year of the Hijrah, a delegation of fourteen Christian Chiefs from Najran; among them Abdul Masih of Bani Kinda, their chief, and Abdul Harith, bishop of Bani Harith, came to Medina to make a treaty with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and were permitted by him to pray in his mosque, which they did turning towards the east.

Later, they undertook a religious discussion with the prophet, which was inconclusive but ended with signing a treaty between the two parties. Muhammad concluded a treaty with their Chiefs and Bishops, which on payment of a tribute of 2000 pieces of cloth, valued at 40 dirhams each, secured them in the undisturbed profession of their ancestral faith. Throughout the rebellion they remained loyal to their engagements, and Abu Bakr renewed the treaty. According to the treaty, the people of Najran like the Christians of the Banu Taghlib tribe were exempted from paying the Jizya required of all non Muslims. The peace agreement also stipulated that the town supply 30 sets of armor, 30 horses and 30 camels for operations along the Gulf coast or in Yemen.

A part of the Najran Treaty between the Prophet Muhammad and the Christians of Najran reads as follows:

“

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their Churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (of Muslims) is to disobey this covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

Going through the teachings of these Imams, who are contemporaries in general sense and all happen to be the students of Imam Jaffer Sadiq be it directly or indirectly.

Then why in today’s Muslim world in general and Pakistan in particular the tolerance has been wiped off the minds of the people. Why the people are being misguided and by whom needs a study in earnest and punish the guilty of this crime.

One thing that needs to be done, all the madaris be taken over by the state and their uniform curriculum be developed impart a uniform education sufficiently injected with the spirit of love and brotherhood. In these Madaris, contemporary subjects also must be taught along with extracurricular activities so as to develop a balanced personality of the students who do not carry any complexes in the real world. Along with this, the elite schools in the country must also be compelled to impart religious education so that they do not look down upon others or feel a different class of society and develop wrong attitudes.

The use of loudspeakers in the Masajids must be regulated as per the law of the land. If this is enforced, then they would not be able to incite or instigate the society at large.

To conclude, there was no more powerful example than that of the Prophet of Islam; now have the Ulema of today grown bigger in stature or become wiser than the Holy Prophet or have they developed some direct channels of communications with Allah that they are negating and bypassing all the teachings of Islam? On the day of judgment, these Ulema would be questioned by Allah for spreading their own brands and leading the people astray from the true path.

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